A Perfect Day, LLC was created with the vision of being able to offer every bride peace of mind through planning and organization. Our mission is to pass the knowledge and know-how that we’ve acquired over years of coordination & close relationships with vendors to all of our clients. We strongly believe in precision planning, and that there is no such thing as too much information. As a company made up of well respected Hawaii Wedding Planners, planning and coordination is our PASSION.

APD Wedding Blog

We enjoy helping couples. See what’s new, past weddings, get ideas, and learn from tips!

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One of the most beautiful couples (inside and out) got married on 6.14.15 at the beautiful Halekulani Hotel! CONGRATULATIONS Chris & Noe Toshi!!! Although their post is yet to come…here is a sneak peak via their video created by Ikaika of eMotion Media Hawaii

Most couples we meet, tell us that one of their biggest concerns or reasons why they are interested in hiring a Wedding Planner is to save money or stay in their budget. Budgets are ALWAYS important and even more so when starting a life together. We can’t express how important having a sold grasp on your budget is for your combined happiness and ability to enjoy the planning process is. For this reason, we are VERY excited to help shed some light on this VERY IMPORTANT topic.

Christie Pham Photography

From Venue to Vendors, setting a budget can be daunting and initially overwhelming as many don’t know where to begin and what to consider. Since it can take months research multiple vendors to determine the “average” cost of something and there is still NO way to determine if your wedding is “average”, we recommend looking at YOUR own finances and determine what both of you (Bride & Groom…or if you are lucky, any parents) are able to CONFIRM spending. Once you know what your budget is, make sure it is an amount you BOTH are comfortable with and won’t need to eat instant saimin everyday to afford ;-). This will help you to enjoy being engaged as well! NOTE: If parents or Sponsors offer to “help” with the cost of your wedding, ask them to deposit their generosity into a “Wedding Bank Account” for you. *You can tell them you are requesting this so you can keep track of your expenses.* This will give you the peace of mind knowing what you actually have in your budget and not plan with what “might” come through. ***If it isn’t deposited, DON’T count on it.***

Here come the actual steps to work with AND STAY within your budget (***IF you want to***). NOTE: For the sake of examples, we will be working with a budget of $50,000. This is NOT an average, just an example.

List all of the various vendors (items/services) you plan to spend money (or include in your budget)

Then list your vendors in order of priority to YOU! NOTE: If someone is contributing to the budget of your wedding, they may insist in having a voice in your decision. Unfortunately, if you don’t want this to happen, you may need to consider gracefully turning down their offer.

You should NOT have more than one “#1″

#1 Should be YOUR most important priority (just because something is important to many other couples, it may not and doesn’t need to be important to you)

Using the budget amount you came up with, divide up that amount and assign a dollar amount to each type of vendor. NOTE: Regardless of what each type of vendor typically charges, don’t think about it. Your #1 priority needs to have more than #2, #2 needs to have more than #3, etc. The example below is not the typical order of priorities OR averages spent, we are using this list (and the amounts) to prove a point and show you an example of what your list should look like (ie: wedding favors are usually a lower priority):

Centerpieces

Venue: $30,000

Favors: $3,500

Videographer: $3,250

Cake: $2,950

Florist: $2,500

Photographer: $2,100

MC: $1,700

DJ: $1,500

Hair and Makeup: $1,250

Dress: $750

Tux: $500

Now you are ready to START choosing and securing your vendors! Start with your #1 priority and work your way down. It is important to work in order and here is why. 1) You don’t want to lose valuable time securing something that isn’t important to you (just because it might be more important to the “average” couple) 2) You don’t want to use up your budget on something that isn’t important to you (for the same reason).

PC: Kai Photo

By having more money allocated to your #1 priority, you should be able to spend the appropriate amount based as your unique priorities

If you have MORE than enough for the type of vendor you are securing, you can move the remaining amount to your next highest priority

(ie: If you only needed $25,000 for the Venue, you now will have $8,500 for your favors)

If you DON’T have enough money for the vendor/priority you are currently working on, you (as a couple) can decide how much money you want to lower any of the lower priority category budgets or if you want to just eliminate your lowest priority completely.

If you follow this process, you will never be SURPRISED regarding your budget. TIP: If possible, try to have your vendors secured 4 months prior to your wedding date so you can begin to work out the finer details of your wedding!

Happy Planning!

These are just some pictures we pulled for a Bride we will be meeting tomorrow (for the first time). Just some ideas we think she might like (from past APD weddings) based on her Pinterest Board :-).

Christie Pham Photography

Lance and Sara were such a loving couple who really “got” each other. They really only wanted to make each other happy and enjoy their special day with their friends and family! Thanks to their amazing vendors, Sara & Lance were able to enjoy every minute of their wedding day (even with the remnants of Hurricaine Iselle lingering). CONGRATULATIONS Mr. & Mrs. Lance & Sara Okuda!!!